1. Only Spanish Speakers Need Apply
If you see a sign in English in Hialeah, there's an 82 percent chance something on it's misspelled. OK, that stat is made up, but it feels true.
There's a prevalent stereotype that you have to speak Spanish in Miami. While that's not true, there's no getting around the need to speak Spanish in neighboring Hialeah.
About 92 percent of the 225,000 residents speak Spanish as their first language. The only city in the U.S. with more Spanish speakers is its next-door neighbor, Hialeah Gardens. A mere 7 percent of people in Hialeah speak only English.
2. Mi Casa De Santos Es Su Casa De Santos
The “house of saints” is the temple for followers of Santeria. Hialeah is home to the largest Santeria community outside Cuba.
The religion is the source of some controversy in the U.S., as it makes use of animal sacrifice.
Santeria is not, however, the most prevalent religion in the city. All it takes is a little driving around to figure out what is, since so many people in town apparently believe that...
3. Yards Should Be Decorated With Saints And Virgins
Roman Catholicism is by far the predominant religion in Hialeah. And how better to show your Catholic pride than with lawn ornaments?
Forget the little garden gnomes and flamingos and pinwheels. Here, yard after yard features a statue of some saint or another or the Virgin Mary or the Big Guy Himself.
4. Lawn Ornaments Are A Great Way To Cover Up A Lack Of Lawn
People in Hialeah must have a real aversion to mowing the grass, or maybe they're afraid of the pointy green blades, because so many yards have a complete and total lack of lawnage.
Or, maybe they simply prioritize low maintenance and ample parking. It's not uncommon for front yards to be nothing more than paved lots, essentially one big house-wide driveway.
5. Bargain Shopping At Ñooo! Que Barato
If you're up on your Spanish profanity, sorry for the potentially offensive headline.
But this is the name of a Hialeah institution, a famed bargain warehouse. Inside, numerous vendors sell a massive variety of goods at incredibly low prices.
If you aren't up on your Spanish profanity, let's just say the name of the place is very emphatic about how cheap the stuff inside is.
6. Fueling Up With Un Cafecito
While everyone else has their Starbucks for some nonsense like a venti skinny caramel macchiato, it's all about un cafecito, or Cuban espresso, in Hialeah.
This beverage consists of shots of a dark espresso roast sweetened with demerara sugar while it brews. It's not just a quick pick-me-up; enjoying a mug with friends is a key social and cultural activity.
7. Amelia Earhart Park Is Paradise
Amelia Earhart took off on her famous flight from Hialeah. While that didn't work out so well, the city park named in her honor is an awesome place.
There's plenty of natural beauty, lakes, hiking and biking trails, canoeing, lots of covered picnic space, a petting zoo, a 5-acre dog park, and lots more.
8. You’ve Heard Of Alarm Clocks In Hialeah It’s All About The Alarm Cock
No, that's not an unfortunate typo. People in Hialeah like to keep chickens, and sometimes that means roosters, too. In this city, you can experience an unusual wake-up call for an urban environment.
For the record, it's against city ordinances to keep chickens or other farm animals in a residential area. That just doesn't seem to stop a lot of people. But at least you have some recourse if you're tired of the early morning crowing from your neighbor's yard.
9. Shopping In Traffic
Flickr user thotfulspot
Need some flowers, but can't quite muster the energy to get out of your car? Driving home when you're suddenly seized by an intense, crippling hunger for fruit or a churro?
If you're in Hialeah, you're in luck. Enterprising entrepreneurs can be seen all over the place wandering and weaving in and out of traffic offering these and other must-haves to travelers.
10. Fleeing Fidel
If you didn't pick up on it yet, even with clues about speaking Spanish, practicing Santeria, and drinking Cuban espresso, Hialeah is a very Cuban place. Cuban exiles began moving to the city in 1959 to escape Fidel Castro's revolution. Today, with about three quarters of its population being Cuban, it's the Cubanest city in the U.S. And the people of Hialeah would argue, it’s the best city as well.
Feature Image Source: Flickr user Ines Hegedus-Garcia 
